We're going to Disney World

I've missed  you guys so much.  Life happens and I just couldn't get motivated to get back into it for a while.  I've been reading everyone else's blogs and missing doing my own.  I hope I can at least talk to you guys once or twice a week. But  let's get back to the matter at hand......

Yes!!! We are finally going to Disney World with the girls!! I can't wait. I'm so excited and I hope they are to :)

I've been before............ in 1982 ( remember..I'm the oldest girl in all the pictures. Get ready for the gawkiness)

gotta love the eighties, am I right?

 

1983....

(I'm the one on the left)

1987........

I have no words for that whole outfit I'm wearing(blue shorts) and the hair

and 1994.........

and this one with all the fanny packs... yikes

 but my hubby and girls have never been.  We thought about waiting until they were both a bit older and were able to ride some more of the rides. But when my Aunt recently passed away, it reminded me how short life is and how you never know what is going to happen.  Why wait?

I talked with my good friend, Heather, who had just recently  become a certified Disney travel agent with Wish A Upon A Star With Us and she hooked us up. She's actually there  as we speak doing some more training. I can't wait to hear any new stuff she finds out. She can work with you completely over the phone and online. She can also send you stuff in the mail.  I had been before but there is SO MUCH MORE to do and see since  the last time we went and I wasn't the one doing the planning last time when I was 16, my mom was.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

....which hotel is best for you and your budget?
.... and do you or don't you get the meal plan?
.... do you buy the Photo Pass or Photo Pass +?
.... do you trade pins or don't you?
.... To nap or not to nap?
.... since we'll have a car and staying on property , do we drive ourselves or use the buses?


My head was spinning for a while.  I'm sure some of the stuff we won't figure out until we go.  I know I've read a million and two blogs to hear about everyone else's experiences.  I learn something new from everyone I read. Really, all of the websites out there are awesome.

Here are a few of the ones I liked the best . Heather told me about a bunch of them and some I found on my own via Pinterest.  Check out my Disney Pinterest board to see all of my Disney stuff.

All Ears  ( loved that they had menus for all of the restaurants on this one. This should save us a bunch of time wandering around)

Mouse Savers   ( this one had alot of tips for saving money on food and souvenirs)

Walt Disney World Prep School(she has so many great tips and facts. She is so thorough. I can't even tell you everything I learned.

Kenny the Pirate(This guy tells you where to find all of the characters while you are at the parks. Invaluable if you want autographs)

Touring Plans

of course Disney World.com

I'll let you know how it goes but until then I had to get ready with some Disney crafts of course. They'll be coming soon. I'll have  pressed penny book decor, penny holder decor, mickey countdown,  autograph books, and t-shirts.

I can't wait to share.


Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor

Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction- Serenity Now

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes

My Super Hero Family

I think all of us have super powers of some sort or another. Other people might not see them but we know they are there.  I started thinking about this more and more as I looked at the artwork of an old high school friend.

Matt has always been a talented illustrator having a comic book in our high school and always drawing all the time but lately he had been posting some super cool stuff on his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Recently he had shown a drawing of  his family  that looked like a cover of a comic book.  It was "super " cool.  I knew that Matt did commissions  so it seemed like a great gift for my husband for Christmas.  Now J isn't a big super hero or comic book guy but  who wouldn't want to have a really cool drawing done of themselves? 

I first approached Matt with my idea... a family of super heroes from Saint Louis with their own unique interests and skills:

Me
-Photographer
J
-Blues and Cardinals Fan
K
-princesses
-Green
-Elephants
S
-Blue
- her "oh puppy"

And of course we had to include Louie and Frankie!

Matt and I settled on a size and he went to work sketching and giving me some previews along the way.  I love the creative process!  He really got what I wanted it to look like.

Keep in mind we did all of this over email and it was super easy.  I did go pick my finals up in person since we live in the same city but I'm sure he'll mail/ship it any where it needs to go.

His original Pencil sketch ( already cool)

created by http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

The next step: penciled version

Created by http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

The pen /start to color version:

Created by: http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

And the totally awesome  final version that now will hang up at my husband's office:

Created by : http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

Aren't we cool looking? Even the dogs look bad-ass.  I couldn't have been any happier with how it turned out.  This is something so unique  that  you just can't buy in a store.  We'll always have this little picture of our lives and our likes right now.

Matt gave me a computer printed colorized version, the original pencil sketch, and a DVD with  a PDF, Jpeg and the Photoshop file.  He can draw any size you want.  This happened to be a 8x10.

I'm not usually all  YOU NEED THIS on my blog  but it is SO COOL  that I think you should.    Did I mention he can draw anything character, movie actor, or just any old thing? You could get your son's favorite bockugon character for his wall or Transformer.

I was in no way paid for this blog post by the way. I was a happy paying customer. And it was worth every penny.  My husband loved it.  The kids got a kick out of it too.

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor


Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes

Meet our new little man, Frankie

We finally had our little boy! {hee hee} His name is Frankie.

The day we got him

K and Frankie the day we got him

 He'll be around 5 months old on January 4th. He's black with a white blaze on his chest and some white on all four of his feet.  He's a rescue dog that's part Basset Hound and part Lab.  That's where those adorable ears come from.  I hope they always look long and floppy. The doc says he'll probably be about 50 lbs of  lazy, hound dog  love. He has alot of skin to grow into. You can grab it and pull on it and he doesn't seem to mind. I like to think he's the long lost  cousin of Charlie, Ree's dog over at Pioneer Woman.  Maybe we should bring him by to visit.  :)

He enjoys eating anything....

 sleeping....

 smelling....

 chewing,  playing with his brother....

playing with the kids....

peeing and pooping( not always in the correct places),  squeezing through the fence,  eating, peeing, pooping.... wait, Am I repeating myself?  Well, he does enjoy those things alot.


He is also a dog of  many emotions:

I know....don't be shocked by his intensity. It can be overwhelming at times. LOL.

He is such a sweetie and you'll be seeing alot more of him  from now on.

 He is one of the reasons I haven't been around here as much.  I have to keep eyes on him at all times! Otherwise  I'm cleaning up a  mess of one kind or another. It's just like having another  2 1/2 year old in the house.

Most days I'm not sure why I did this to myself. Getting a puppy with two small kids but I did and now he's my kid too.  I know it'll  get better but next time , we may rescue an older, potty trained , non-chewing dog.

most recent picture, a week ago.

He already has a bunch of  nicknames:
-Buster
-Pupster
-Little Man ( well, when we first got him)
-Frank
-Frank the Tank
-Puppy
-Franklin
-Stinkster
-No-No bad dog
-Piddles
-King Piddles

Don't worry I'm sure we will think of more.

And in full disclosure, we've had him for two months already and I'm just getting around to this post mostly because.....wait for it.......................................wait for it..........................................................
we couldn't decide on a name for almost that long......GASP!!

I know, bad dog mommy and daddy but this poor little guy was "Puppy" for a whole month.  Geez. I know, indecisive much? 

But now he's Frankie and all is good in the world.  I think  a  post called " the world according to Frankie"  sounds  good. Don't you?

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor


Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now


Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes

Freedom

 We are free to do, say, and be who we want to be in this country. The only thing holding us back is ourselves. For those who have and are currently serving, We are forever grateful. Thank You.

  We are honored enough to live by Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. My uncle and grandparents along with countless others are buried here. It really is a beautiful  and  humbling sight to see.

My Stop-Spending- Stupid- Money Plan ( or 10 things that can save you money if you stop doing them)

Stupid Money (n): The money that you should have been able to save or never spent in the first place but you were lazy, just plain forgot or made a bad choice.

It's the middle of the year and I am tired of spending stupid money on things I shouldn't.  Are you still confused on the concept of " stupid" money? Here  are some examples of "stupid" money  issues:

-Library book fines

I don't want to even know how much I have paid the library this year. Based in how much we love the library, it was a bunch.  It should be a free resource but when you forget to turn in 8 kids DVDs for a week. Ka-ching!

-NOT returning stuff
You look at the receipt and say, oh  I've got a month to return that or 60 days or even 90. And then you look at the recipe again and missed your chance. There's $60 of stuff you can't use sitting in your room


-Not sending in rebates
 Seriously so annoying.  You buy something and it comes with an awesome rebate. You have every intention of sending it in and then before you know it, it's passed and you didn't save the $5- $20 bucks. dang it.

-Forgetting coupons

 I'm not the best coupon user and I buy lots of things that never or hardly have coupons. So when i do see a coupon  for something I actually use, I get all excited , cut it out, put it in the organizer and then forget the organizer whenever I go to the store. And as I'm checking out I remember that I had a coupon for that. grrrr..

-Forgetting Gift cards/Groupons

 You get a gift card for a birthday or Christmas or baby shower or wedding shower... you think you are going to wait and use it on something good or wait until you have coupon to use with the girt card.  And a year or so goes by and it starts losing value or it's been swimming around your purse so long that you just lose it. There goes  $20-$100 . bye bye.

-Mystery Charges on bills you don't check
I'm not the best at reviewing my monthly bills or bank statements on time. I have caught, too late, some mystery charges or late fees or over drafts  that had I caught sooner. I could have gotten removed or reduced  but I didn't so they got me   $5-$40 at a time.

- Traffic Tickets
In the past few years, the red light cameras have gotten us ( whatever) and J got a speeding ticket going from building to building at work. There was $200 a pop right there to get them fixed. Just think what we could have done with that money.

-Throwing away food
we don't do this alot but  there are some times that because we by alot of  food at a big box store ( i know, not the best)  that we throw away a bunch of apples or a half a bag of lettuce or some other kind of food that went bad before we could eat it. Even though we saved money buying the food there,  we are throwing money away by not eating it/

- Reoccurring monthly charges
I'm talking about stuff like Blockbuster online (we didn't use for 4 months because we were too busy), Netflix( always forget to use ), consumer reports...stuff like that.  Apparently, we had been paying $20 a year for Consumer reports for 7 years. So it's not a ton of money, but we weren't even using it and had completely forgotten that we were paying for it.

And my all time DUH stupid money spender....

- Not bringing your lunch to work or out somewhere you could like an outdoor concert or touristy place ( like the Zoo)

 J leaves in such a hurry in the morning that he usually doesn't have time to make his lunch. If he did it would be a  deli sandwich with some yogurt and fruit maybe. Healthy , right? But when he forgets  what does he buy at work? A deli sandwich , chips, and some fruit.  Ahhhh.. So that's $8 bucks a pop almost five days a week on top of what we spend on groceries.

If we can cut back on this kind of stuff maybe we can afford that trip to Disney World next year. Yipee!

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY How Off
DIY Shop - Lines Across My Face -I should be mopping the Floor
Great Fun 4 Kids

Tuesday
How to Nest For Less - Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime - Chronic Christian Crafter - Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
The Winthrop Chronicles


Wednesday
Oopsey Daisy - Thrifty Home - Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
- Junk in Their Trunk  - Southern Lovely


Thursday
My rePurposed Life - Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
Loving this Crazy Life -Scrappy Crafty Happy - Fireflies and Jellybeans - The Shabby Cottage
Quality Cheap Home  - The Taylor House
House of Hepworths

Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now
Family Ever After 
Here Comes the Sun

Saturday


Six Sister's Stuff
Be Different Act Normal


Sunday
Nifty Thrifty Things

Things I Love about St.Louis: The Saint Louis Zoo

(This is the fourth in the Things I Love about Saint Louis Series. If you want to know more, go here.)

Living in Saint Louis my whole life, sometimes I forget how lucky we really are having this awesome Zoo.  Not every city has a zoo and  not every zoo is free to get into. I know there are alot of other zoos around the country but I'm a little bias. The Saint Louis Zoo is just all around great.

I went to the zoo every year as a kid, not alot  but at least once a year. Ever since J and I had kids, we've been going to the Zoo ALOT.  Say... a few times a month alot. We started going to often that we decided very quickly to become members.  The Zoo is open year round and we have been there at all times except when it's 30 degrees or under or it has snowed which I'm kinda bummed about because I've heard it's pretty.

Hmm..... which kind do I want?

As a member( there are different levels), we get the free parking and so  many go- anywhere passes which get you on the train, the carousel, the children's zoo, and  the sea lion show. If they melt down after 30 minutes, I don't feel bad leaving because it was paid for along time ago. And  J's work donation-matches so we can  up our membership level, score! If you are from STL, look into if your work matches too. It's so worth it.

Price....mostly FREE...
If you are not a member or just visiting, you can go through the whole zoo for free. Yep, free ( if you can avoid the food and gift shop. I know, easier said than done)  If you get there the first hour of the day,  you can go into the children's zoo, carousel,and sting rays for free. FREE.  If you have a bigger family, that's a heck of a deal. You can also park for free along the streets  in Forest Park, which will be is it's own post of awesome-ness. As my friend Katrina over at Keys To the Magic Travel says about WDW....a very affordable option for souvenirs are the pressed pennies that you can find all around the Zoo. K loves them and for 51 cents. I can't beat it. 

If you get here after the first hour, they do have a Safari Pass. For $10 per person, this gets you one admission to the Children's Zoo, Zooline Railroad, Conservation Carousel, Movie and 4-D Motion Simulator and Stingrays at Caribbean. It maybe worth it, it may not be depending on what you want to see and do.

S  loves the squeezy applesauce.

Food
We usually bring some snacks for the girls when we go like squeezey applesauce, crackers, grapes, and  drinks.  The Zoo is cool with you bringing a cooler and  all the food/drink  you need with you.  How great is that? But if you don't want to worry about it, the food is great here.  It's the typical tourist prices. They have everything from BBQ to Ice Cream to Beer. There are 10 places to get food all around the Zoo. They have this deal for a Souvenir cup for $8 but then refills are only a $1. If you can share one of those, you're set. And if you come back, you can bring it back and reuse it again all season.

Attire
I always dress for comfort and a little sweating, especially in the summer here in St.Louis ( hot and really humid) Lugging two kids in a double stroller for 2-3 hours doesn't make for cute. I see plenty of cutely dressed people but I want comfort. It is a bigger place so I would recommend tennis shoes but again I  see people in all kinds of shoes.

Our Route
Our usual Zoo trip goes something like this....( and keep in mind this is a 4 and 2 year I'm taking )

We try to get there as early as we can to avoid the crowds and  the heat in the summer. We go through the south gates by Highway 40 and make our way to the right where we climb up the hill towards the big cats and large hooved animals.  There are many cool buildings with other animals that you can look at along the way but right now my kids have no interest in them and there are so many other animals to see that it doesn't matter. There are two baby lions that were out this morning and they are so cute you will want to take them home.

Mountain Bongo

Then we make our way back down the hill to the apes/monkeys,birds...

  around to the carousel.....

 

 ....bears, Living World ( not much for my two right now but tons of cool stuff),Children's zoo, Insectarium

and then on the River's Edge to see the hippos and Elephants, who are the girls favorite. There are folks all around the Zoo who are explaining the animals and will answer any questions that you can think of or will find out who can answer your questions if they can't. We finish up the day with a ride on the Zoo train which right now is the highlight of the trip, which is why it's left until the end.

New Baby Kenzie and her mom, Rani

Grandma Ellie, Mama Rani and  Baby Kenize- Three elephant generations. What a family.

My little photog K capturing the hippos

Being the ages they are, there is a bunch we don't do  but when they are older things will totally change I'm sure. I so recommend this place to anyone visiting from out of town with or without kids. It's one of my top 5 places to go here. I  have been in no way paid or compensated for this post at all. I just love this place and am so blessed that it is in the city where I live. Please come and enjoy it if you are ever in town.

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY How Off
DIY Shop - Lines Across My Face -I should be mopping the Floor
Great Fun 4 Kids

Tuesday
How to Nest For Less - Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime - Chronic Christian Crafter - Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
The Winthrop Chronicles


Wednesday
 Thrifty Home - Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 Junk in Their Trunk  - Southern Lovely


Thursday
My rePurposed Life - Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
Loving this Crazy Life -Scrappy Crafty Happy - Fireflies and Jellybeans - The Shabby Cottage
Quality Cheap Home  - The Taylor House
House of Hepworths

Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now
Family Ever After 
Here Comes the Sun

Saturday


Six Sister's Stuff
Be Different Act Normal


Sunday
Nifty Thrifty Things


Other Fun Blogs

Two dads I know

(yep...that's me in the Wonder Woman Underoos in the pool with my dad and my little sister circa 1980)

My dad

I remember you reading me " Where is the keeper?" book over and over.

I remember you pushing us around the basement on a moving dolly. It was a fun ride.

I remember you making me chocolate malts in the blender.

I remember you getting me out of bed in the mornings when I was little, plopping me on the couch, turning on the lone ranger, and getting me my carnation instant breakfast drink.

I remember you helping me with words, math and other stuff using flashcards. And when I did good, I got stickers.

I remember you teaching me to ride a bike at the park, and looking back at you as I fell in the grass.

I remember you singing along to the radio and always humming along to the bass guitar beat of any song.

I remember you ironing your clothes every morning and blow drying your hair before work.

I remember when you would take us down to your work and we would roll around on office chairs through the mainframe room and getting boxes of chocolate milk out of the vending machine.

 I remember you tried to get me to horses whenever you could because I loved them so much.

I remember every night you would come home at 5pm on the dot in your suit and we would have dinner.

I remember that you would listen to KMOX every morning as you ate your cereal.

I remember you taking me to the Venture parking lot on a Sunday night to learn to drive and then just telling me to drive home.  Brave, brave man.

(Planting our new garden today. They helped their daddy alot.)

My husband

You are so good at getting them out and about. Doing sporty things that aren't my bag. They will thank you someday.

You play dress up and tea party more than any one should.

You  make time to sit with them, draw, and read books.

They will remember all the trips to Home Depot and Lowes  as their daddy time.

You amaze me with how soft and gentle you can be with our two little angels.

You are learning to do girly things very well. Keep up the good work.

You are the best daddy that they could have ever asked for.

Vacation at Pensacola Beach, FL ( Wordless Wednesday)

( Here are the best of what I took. Please be kind. I was/am sick. cough . cough)

Sunrise the morning we left somewhere in Missouri

After 15 hours in the car...this was a great sign to see.

  Their first beach photo the day after we got there.

  View from in front of our condo on the beach looking East.

  This was the first thing they did after we gave them the toys.

I'm not sure you can tell but it was quite an incline from the waves to the seaweed up there.

Us under our pavilion( that days later the wind pick up,threw, and destroyed) and  I circled our condo  on the first floor.

 Lifeguards with yellow caution flag out.  Everyday we were there, it was yellow.

 What? See I'm cute.

  And now I shall eat your apple.